Saturday, March 29, 2014

Review--Altitudes and Attitude

One of the coolest things about the rock/metal scene today is that a lot of the bands I grew up listening to are either getting back together, or pursuing some really interesting side projects. it's like they've realized that you get to a certain point and you just want to create interesting music. Over the past few years, some of my favorite bands have put out their best music, twenty-plus years into their careers.

And then there's side projects like Altitudes and Attitude. Two of my favorite bass players of all time, David Ellefson (Megadeth) and Frank Bello (Anthrax) had been doing bass clinics together and decided to write some songs release them. The result is a three-song EP that is filled with great harmonies, incredible bass lines and a mix of both rock and metal that sounds like neither of the duo's regular bands.

The first song "Booze and Cigarettes" is a rocker about doing whatever makes you happy. "Tell the World" is a soulful, uplifting song in which Bello proves he's a pretty decent singer, and "Here Again" is a faster tempo song that you'd expect from these two metal masters.

The biggest compliment I can give this EP is that three songs is nowhere near enough from these guys. All three songs are great and I want a lot more in the future. I hope the positive response to this EP will get Ellefson and Bello back in the studio for a full album. But I'd even settle for a few more bite-sized offerings like this in between the work their doing with Megadeth and Anthrax.